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Superman Returns

I’m just gonna throw it out there. No matter how this movie turned out, I had a feeling I’d like it just because of the extensive use of the John Williams original Superman theme. That song’s so good, man! It’s so epic, and I used to listen to it when I drove to high school. The movie itself was also relatively epic. From the opening shot reminiscent of Star Trek VI to the credits that were styled after those cool, blue laser-lookin’ credits from the original series, it’s hard to not be amazed at being able to really put Superman on screen like that.

Superman Returns begins with us reading that Superman left to find his home of Krypton. A little bit later in the movie, well”¦ he returns. However coming back and saving the world isn’t that simple. He has to deal with love lost of Lois Lane and the lousy life of Lex Luthor (and your fill of alliteration). Luthor has some deadly scheme that must be stopped and both Clark Kent and Superman have to deal with the fact that Lois is engaged and has a son.

One thing that was spurred on in my mind by the credits is the faithfulness to the other Superman. Not only did Bryan Singer include some famed Marlon Brando footage cut from Superman II and follow up a bit on the story begun in the other 4 (of course with much younger characters, but I’ll look past that), but also, I get the impression that each actor was forced to channel their predecessor. Kevin Spacey injects the same humor and maliciousness into Luthor that Gene Hackman once did, but puts his own brilliant touch that nearly steals the movie. I was more than pleased with Brandon Routh’s performance. His Clark Kent was disarmingly likeable (and he even included some subtle Christopher Reeve-like mannerisms. In fact, this movie sort of throws the Clark Kent character more by the wayside than I would have liked. It’s just that Routh pulled it off so well, I didn’t want to see Clark Kent go. And I know David Carradine’s speech in Kill Bill: Volume II about how Clark Kent isn’t the real person and blah, blah, blah. I’m just saying I missed Kent. However, Routh’s Superman did deftly combine the nobility and self-conscious corniness that we all know and love. Kate Bosworth, Parker Posey, and

James Marsden were all impressive in their respective parts as well.

This movie, much like Singer’s X-Men is very character-driven and the plot seems almost a sidenote to the introduction and fleshing out of the characters themselves. In this way (and thanks to a couple other details) it lends itself well to a sequel that’s probably going to be super awesome. Anyway, I really can’t get over how great Spacey and Routh are in the movie. At times a little over-the-top on the cheese factor and also a bit long (the two and a half hour running time seemed able to lose a few minutes near the end), the movie still managed to succeed about exciting me about a superhero I’ve never been terribly excited about. I always like when he appears in Batman comics and I enjoyed the first two movies. But Nuclear Man really left a bad taste in my mouth, and I tend to think someone as all-powerful as Superman can only have so many interesting stories written about him.

Although not perfect, and still not quite the best superhero movie I’ve seen (although very high on that list), this movie manages to breathe new life into the franchise and is a terribly exciting film. Go see it. I have decreed. It’s got good interaction between characters, a buttload of action, and even a lot of amiable poking fun at Superman itself (think of the “Well, what would you prefer? Yellow spandex?” line from X-Men). I don’t even think seeing it in the press screening room did it justice. I might have to pay for some IMAX action in the next couple days.

Movie Grade: A-

Synopsis:

Following a mysterious absence of several years, the Man of Steel comes back to Earth in the epic action-adventure Superman Returns, a soaring new chapter in the saga of one of the world’s most beloved superheroes. While an old enemy plots to render him powerless once and for all, Superman faces the heartbreaking realization that the woman he loves, Lois Lane, has moved on with her life. Or has she? Superman’s bittersweet return challenges him to bridge the distance between them while finding a place in a society that has learned to survive without him. In an attempt to protect the world he loves from cataclysmic destruction, Superman embarks on an epic journey of redemption that takes him from the depths of the ocean to the far reaches of outer space.